Ohio bill would ban late-term abortions

As a new report shows abortion rates in the United States leveling off after years of decline, Ohio appears set to make a new attempt at joining many states in banning late-term abortions.

As a new report shows abortion rates in the United States leveling off after years of decline, Ohio appears set to make a new attempt at joining many states in banning late-term abortions.

Legislation that would ban late-term abortions is among the priority bills rolled out last week by the Ohio House Republican leadership. The measure is the only bill among the initial offerings sponsored by a Democrat: Rep. Lorraine Fende of Willowick.

House Bill 7 would ban abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy, or past 22 weeks if a test determines a fetus is "viable" and can live outside the womb. It contains an exception if the physical health of the woman is at serious risk but specifies that "does not include a condition related to the woman's mental health."

"I had a conversation with someone quite some time ago that right now, you could be 81/2 months' pregnant and have an abortion for no reason," Fende said.

The Guttmacher Institute reports that 1.5 percent of abortions are performed after the 21st week, and 88 percent are performed within the first eight weeks of pregnancy.

This could be Ohio's first serious attempt to resurrect a late-term abortion ban that was struck down by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1997. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in 2007 to uphold bans on so-called partial-birth abortion, giving abortion opponents hope that the court would also look favorably on restrictions to late-term abortions.

"There have been a lot of court cases that have come down the pike, and we believe the climate is right now both judicially and legislatively to put this forward," said Michael Gonidakis, executive director of Ohio Right to Life.

If passed, Ohio would join 38 states with some type of limit on late-term abortions. Its prospects should be good; Republicans have huge majorities in each chamber, and a few Democrats were endorsed by Right to Life.

The issue is a "bait and switch" for Ohio voters, said Kellie Copeland, executive director for NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio. "They voted on jobs and the economy, and now they're getting divisive abortion legislation."

Those decisions belong with women, their families and their doctors, she said, adding that the bill would ban abortions during weeks when serious complications can arise or information about fetal abnormalities can become available.

The bill's health exception "ignores so many other serious health situations that we feel strongly the bill, the way it's crafted, marks a serious threat to women's health," Copeland said.

When the courts have struck down late-term bans, Guttmacher said, it's generally because they either contain no health exception or one that is too narrow, or they rely on a defined time period to start the ban rather than allowing physicians to determine whether the child could survive outside the womb.

Gonidakis estimates the ban would prevent nearly 700 abortions a year in Ohio.

"A lot of people think abortion is something that happens in the first couple days - you pop a pill and everything's over. It's not," he said.

Gonidakis said his group will offer changes to House Bill 7, or a separate bill. He wants to start the bill at 20 weeks rather than 22 weeks and alter the bill's health exception to ensure it can withstand a legal challenge.

Two states - North Carolina and Nebraska - set their late-term abortion bans at 20 weeks, according to Guttmacher. All others set it at "viability," 24 weeks, or the third trimester. Some argue that "viability" now can begin as early as 20 weeks.

A Guttmacher study found that abortion rates in 2008 were 19.6 per 1,000 women, a number that is well below the peak rate of 29.3 in 1981 but relatively unchanged since 2005.

Ohio's rates, however, have continued to trend downward. The Ohio Department of Health says 28,721 pregnancies were terminated in 2009, a 3percent drop from 2008 and the ninth straight year of declines. Since 2000, abortions in Ohio are down 40percent.

Ohio lawmakers have continued to tinker with abortion laws over the years, such as requiring doctors to offer a woman an ultrasound picture before she undergoes an abortion and mandating that clinics post signs telling women that no one can force them to have an abortion.

Fende said she was surprised to learn her bill was among the top 10 introduced, which is typically reserved for the majority party's priority legislation. New House Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, has pledged to pass more minority-sponsored legislation than usual.

Fende said, "It's my hope there will be hearings on it before we get into the budget bill because, it seems like, when it's budget-bill time, that is all-consuming."

jsiegel@dispatch.com

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